Conclave: The bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club thriller

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Over 2 million more people voted for Hillary Clinton than did for Donald Trump, but due to the system put in place by our Founding Fathers, who didn’t really trust the rabble of American voters, the electoral college supersedes the results of the popular vote. I am not a Roman Catholic so couldn’t say whether every little detail of dress, procedure and so forth was strictly accurate, but I always feel, that unless they are glaring, minor lapses don’t affect a rattling good novel. The protagonist, Cardinal Lomeli, who is supervising the conclave of Cardinals at the Vatican after the death of a Pope, is a highly appealing prelate, beset with self-doubt, deeply compassionate but not sure about doing the right thing; Also compelling is the sheer detail with which Harris leads you into the elaborately ritualized and claustrophobic world of the Roman Catholic Church's inner sanctum, even to the extent of noting the chemical makeup of the famous white smoke that signals the new Pope's election.

As someone fascinated by all things political, I looked forward to learning more about an election that has always been cloaked in secrecy, expecting great things from an author whose works, from Hitler reimaginings to Blair reinterpretations to Cicero rediscoveries, has always been steeped in the art of the possible. You might question whether there is much drama to be had in the deliberations of a group of men over 60, largely confined in one place. As is generally the case in life, most displayed, despite their priestly offices and high status, a variety of levels of ambition, greed, corruption and in some cases a genuine goodness and sense of vocation. Its interior light was on, the windscreen wipers scudding back and forth, close enough for him to be able to make out the faces of both the driver and his assistant. There is also an interesting discussion about Islam and how we welcome them to our Western countries, but we are certainly not welcome in theirs.It was still unread when I got home, and I further put off tackling it partly I think because I started watching (and not particularly enjoying) the Young Pope series on TV. Perhaps the Holy Father had already started to sense that death was close and that his mission would not be completed; perhaps that accounted for his uncharacteristic irritation?

As someone who had a notionally Catholic upbringing – I wouldn’t go so far as to say lapsed as I was never convinced to begin with – I felt keenly the contradiction between enjoying all these treasures and thinking that the wealth that purchased them should never have been appropriated from my ancestors in the first place. In Conclave the hero is Cardinal Lomeli, dean of the College of Cardinals and the man responsible for presiding over the conclave.

Behind the scenes of each vote, though, there is enough scheming and maneuvering to make your head spin. For me, I thought of it as a rather outré and admittedly unlikely possibility but nonetheless entirely legitimate eyebrow raising ending. Certainly world leaders, regardless of their political or religious affiliations, appreciate the support of the Pope in regards to any changes they are trying to make to the lives of their citizens. He had never forgotten filing past Pope Paul VI’s body in St Peter’s in 1978: in the August heat, the face had turned greyish-green, the jaw had sagged, and there was a definite whiff of corruption. Das Ende ist zugegebenermaßen nicht nur völlig unerwartet (ich war nicht in der Lage die Zeichen, die darauf hindeuteten, richtig zu interpretieren), sondern auch ein wenig fragwürdig.

Didn't expect so many revelations nor what extent some cardinals would to to hide offenses that would keep, them out of the running. Heading to the apartment of the Holy Father, Lomeli is met by a small group, who confirm the news and begin the prescribed acts required when the Vatican is without its Supreme Pontiff. That lack of drama is telling and turns what might be a good story into a rather pedestrian ramble through the arcane bureaucracy of the Vatican. Es mangelt auch an allerlei haarsträubenden Verschwörungstheorien, die zwar unterhaltsam aber vollkommen unglaubwürdig sind. The egos of the Cardinals arriving are so large that the room can barely contain the mass of their collective self-esteem.No one is supposed to want the job, but once you have it, it’s yours for life – unless you’re German, of course, in which case you can cut and run when the scandals get too much. As we all know, they must be sequestered during the conclave to insure that no outside influence can be brought to bear on the process.

Será necessário um coordenador para levar a bom termo o melindroso processo e coube ao Cardeal Lomeli a honrosa missão. He had to step over the backs of their legs to get round to the pillows where the Pope lay slightly propped up, his body concealed by the white counterpane, his hands folded on his chest above his plain iron pectoral cross. I'm lucky enough to have visited Rome and the Vatican and it really helped me to visualise the setting. It starts off well with an interesting premise about the conclave, but half way through it features an unnecessary nasty act and the end didn't feel clever so much as political.As I’ve traveled around Europe, the people of those nations are well aware of the impact the decisions made by the President have on their lives.